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Many metal ions are known to have severe health and environmental impacts, particularly in aqueous environments. Therefore, we have investigated the detection of divalent metal cations in water using array sensing techniques. Array sensing, also known as chemical fingerprinting or pattern recognitio...

Ghost fishing is a term used to describe abandoned and lost fishing gear that catches marine life. One common type of derelict fishing gear in Mississippi Sound are Blue Crab traps. Derelict crab traps are the result of a combination of factors, but not limited to frequent storms, boat traffic, vand...

Sea-level rise (SLR) is negatively impacting coastal infrastructure such as reducing the effectiveness of stormwater systems, jeopardizing key aspects of fresh and wastewater systems, and flooding roads more frequently. Adapting to these challenges can take on a variety of formats depending on the s...

Increasing post-release survival of discarded fishes is a critical challenge to the development of effective conservation and management strategies. Among reef fishes, this challenge is further complicated by pressure-related injuries known as barotrauma. To address this, US fishery management agenc...

Communities that can increase their resilience are in a better position to absorb losses and other adverse impacts from climate-related natural hazards and disasters. For this assertion to be useful, however, insight regarding how to better measure and benchmark the concept will be valuable. This is...

Secretive marsh birds are difficult to survey for, especially during the non-breeding season when vocalizations are infrequent, complicating population estimation efforts. While some breeding population assessments have been performed, dynamics of marsh bird populations, especially during the non-br...

Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) are a popular sportfish that make long coastal migrations from the southern Gulf of Mexico to the northern Gulf in the late spring. The species is long lived and slow maturing, which makes them susceptible to the synergistic effects of overfishing and climate ch...

For the past five years, Gulf of Mexico states have dealt with nearly annual appearances of massive Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) that have impacted coastal ecosystems and dependent tourism, fishing and the larger economies of communities. The research objectives of this project focused on quantifying...

The Oysters in the Mississippi Sound are depleting because of a range of environmental and anthropogenic stressors. While some of the organic matter in water can be helpful for oyster survival and growth, the detritus in the suspended particulate matter (SPM) can foul these suspension feeding animal...

Groundwater quality and quantity in Alabama’s coastal system are affected by natural and anthropogenic stressors, including most notably, climatic variations, tropical storms and hurricanes, sea-water intrusion, land-use changes, agricultural activities, and water usage due to increasing public-su...

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Current, accurate land cover and change information is a common foundational data set that can be used to address a wide range of management issues, from flooding risk and natural infrastructure to policy evaluation and land use planning. Detailed information related to impervious...

The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is working with partners from the United States Geological Survey and Mississippi State University to comprehensively monitor constructed reefs in the Grand Bay Estuary. Reef construction, scheduled to occur in fall of 2020, is funded by the Natural ...

Changes in construction methods are improving the durability of our homes in the face of severe weather. Nearly 20,000 homeowners in 17 states have used the nationally recognized FORTIFIED Home™ resilient construction standard to strengthen their homes and reduce the cost of ownership. FORTIFIED H...

Coastal cities suffer from flooding in part due to increased impervious surfaces from construction and development projects. One way to curb flooding is to install green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). But a few barriers prevent the installation of GSI: technical uncertainty, city ordinances, and t...

The current trend in the Gulf of Mexico is to install hard structures, such as, bulkheads, groins, or revetment on shorelines to protect waterfront coastal properties from erosion. In Alabama over 26% of the state’s tidal shoreline has been armored, 40% of Tampa Bay’s shoreline has been armored,...

Widespread wetland loss and degradation has resulted in a subsequent loss of the ecosystem services they provide, including the removal of human-produced nitrogen. Human-made stormwater control systems such as roadside ditches are possible hotspots for nitrogen removal in coastal watersheds, yet few...

Habitat complexity influences the abundance and distribution of faunal species and is an important driver of community structure in aquatic systems. Structured habitats increase the recruitment, survival, and growth of organisms, often by increasing resource availability, providing a predation refug...

Tidal creek ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) are experiencing increasing development pressure as populations continue to grow in coastal counties. These creeks serve as important linkages between watersheds and coastal waters and include fringing salt marshes that are valuable habi...

Shoreline erosion is a fundamental concern to residents and stakeholders along the Gulf Coast. While much attention has focused on barrier islands and marshes, less investigation has occurred along sandy, estuarine shorelines that support woodlands or residential areas. Properties along these shorel...

Coastal wind-driven waves play an important role in transportation and exchange of mass and energy. The amount and intensity of wave energy determines the rate of erosion and deposition in estuarine systems. One limitation in many wave modeling studies is the lack of spatially robust wave measuremen...

Ecosystem restoration has been globally recognized as a key component of conservation programs and is considered essential to the long-term sustainability of many ecosystems. However, little information exists on the impacts these ecologically-based land management activities have on environmental q...

The massive disruptions to the oyster industry caused by the Covid-19 pandemic creates an opportunity to rethink how oyster habitat can be restored and created. Oyster reef restoration and enhancement projects have focused on replacing or supplementing cultch material in the hopes of gaining a natur...

On April 20, 2005, The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, claiming 11 human lives, and initiating an 87-day-long oil spill, a cross-habitat ecological event, and an unparalleled research effort that continues today. Alongside cross-disciplinary scientists addressing environmental questions raised by th...

Due to climate change, the strength and frequency of heavy rainfall and flooding events have been changing along with the associated use of protective measures such as diversions directing river water to coastal areas. Bonnet Carre Spillway (BCS) is the flood control structure on Mississippi River p...

The marine and estuarine ecosystems and living resources of Mississippi are of considerable importance to the area’s ecology and to the state’s economy. Dissolved oxygen is an important water quality parameter in determining oyster habitat suitability. A coupled hydrodynamic-water quality model ...

Mangrove ecosystems are highly productive and can store disproportionate amounts of carbon in their sediment that may be metabolized to methane by methanogens. Methane can then be released to the atmosphere through outgassing. By evaluating the structure and function of microbial communities in mang...

This study sheds light on possible spatial aggregation bias and mismeasurement in natural disaster impacts on economic growth when adopting the synthetic control method. Using the impacted U.S. areas of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as a case study, we compared trends of real GRDP per capita, population...

Within the past two decades, Alabama’s coastline along the Gulf of Mexico was significantly altered by both natural and anthropogenic processes. Tropical cyclones, such as Hurricanes Ivan (September 2004) and Katrina (August 2005), caused unprecedented damage to habitat, recreational beaches, and ...

Monotypic stands of Juncus roemerianus dominate the marshes of Mississippi and other areas in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Although Juncus-dominated marshes are common in this region, few studies examined the effects of restoration efforts on faunal inhabitants of these marsh ecosystems. Deer Is...

Almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a host of new challenges for conducting business as usual for natural and cultural resource managers. As organizations strive to accomplish tasks in this time of uncertainty, most have had to turn to technological solutions for safely convening group...